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Fichte’s Conception of Law and Its Foundations
Get PDFThe question concerning the true nature of law has frequently arisen throughout the history of philosophy, and many different answers have been given to it. This thesis examines Johann Gottlieb Fichte’s Foundations of Natural Right (1796–1797), which exemplifies an approach to understanding the nature of law by inquiring into its metaphysical foundations. Fichte provides a conception of law founded upon the possibility of the existence of an external world, individuality, and intersubjectivity. Law, as a moment of human self-consciousness, becomes a necessity, a condition of self-consciousness, and the ultimate foundation of human existence. Fichte’s theory shows the preconditions for establishing a liberal political order, which is the aim of the book and is inextricably connected with realizing the true nature of human beings as free and rational individuals. The Foundations is considered to be Fichte’s most comprehensive and sophisticated work in political philosophy where he analyzes law as a metaphysical and epistemological problem. This thesis explores Fichte’s question, “But what is the law?” and how this bare concept is to be realized in the sensible world? The thesis also examines the different interpretations of Fichte’s philosophy, questioning whether there is a reciprocal relation between morality and law, and whether he defends a legal system purified of moral theory or a politics shaped by morality. It provides an authentic explanation of the origin of many of the legal concepts used today, identifying the foundation of these concepts, and highlighting Fichte’s work as a model of the transformation of legal thinking in the modern world
From Homeland to Hostland: Language Ownership of Heritage Dialect and Narratives of Third Culture Kids of the Gulf
Get PDFThe main purpose of this study is to examine Arab Adult Third Culture Kids’ sense of heritage language ownership and their identity constructions in relation to their transnational Arab Gulf context. The present study has three main aims: to ascertain their sense of ownership towards their heritage dialects, to understand the basis for their claimed or denied ownership, and to investigate the positions they ascribed to themselves and others in relation to their belonging and transnational and linguistic experiences. The study aims to fill the gap where there is a scarcity of sociolinguistic research around Arab Third Culture Kids in the Gulf. Additionally, it seeks to address the diglossic context of the Arabic language by defining Arabic heritage language in relation to colloquial dialects spoken in home countries and to explore the complex transnational and linguistic experiences such a transnational population has. The present mixed-methods study utilized a language attitudes survey to measure heritage language ownership levels of 89 Arab Adult Third Culture Kids who grew up in the Gulf. Additionally, it thematically analyzed participants’ survey responses about heritage language ownership. It also analyzed written autobiographies of six participants using Bamberg’s positioning theory. Results revealed that participants had an overall strong sense of heritage language ownership towards their colloquial dialects. A thematic analysis of qualitative responses about heritage language ownership showed that they generally relied on criteria of authenticity, language skills, and environmental factors to support their heritage language ownership claims. Their narratives illustrated a range of different positions they ascribed to themselves. Mainly, they positioned themselves as transnational, multicultural, and open-minded individuals who cherished cultural and linguistic diversity. Their narratives revealed a strong sense of ownership and a complicated sense of belonging. The present study has implications for sociolinguistic research and heritage language instruction. It offers a novel approach to understanding heritage language ownership of Arab transnationals who live in the Gulf, accurately capturing their linguistic-heritage connections in a non-Western context. One of the implications of this study is that it encourages an inclusive educational environment that utilizes translanguaging pedagogies in an attempt to navigate hegemonic language ideologies that exclude hybrid populations
Motivation and barrier facing daughter’s succession in family businesses
No full textWomen who have been appointed in managerial positions have played a vital role in enhancing organizational performance. However, they are still underrepresented in higher positions as well as a successor in family businesses. Therefore, this study aimed to understand the factors that hinder daughters’ succession in family businesses. Furthermore, study the factors that eliminate such barriers such as motivational factors. This research adopted a qualitative research method to understand the barriers and motivational factors that face daughters’ succession in family businesses. 16 interviews were conducted focusing on daughters whose family owns a business. The results indicated a significant impact of motivation on barriers that hinder daughters’ succession. Implications and future research are discussed
Metaheuristic Techniques to Optimize Trajectory Planning of UAV Swarms: Enhancing Data Acquisition in Wireless Sensor Networks
No full textUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become increasingly integrated into various applications due to their cost-efficiency, rapid deployment, flexible maneuvers, and enhanced performance. This has led to the development of a new field called UAV-assisted Wireless Sensor Networks (U-WSNs), which focus on data routing, network performance optimization, and planning UAV trajectories between sensor nodes in wireless sensor networks. In this thesis, a new framework has been proposed to manage a swarm of UAVs cooperatively serving large-scale wireless sensor networks. The framework consists of three optimization problems: distributing sensor nodes among UAVs, finding optimal trajectories in the presence of obstacles, and performing online replanning of UAV paths to adapt to removed or added sensor nodes. The objectives are to minimize the traveling distance of all UAVs, optimize the distance to threats, and minimize data upload time for each UAV. The framework uses metaheuristic optimization to find near-optimal solutions to these optimization problems. The results show that the proposed framework for UAV-assisted data acquisition in WSNs is more comprehensive compared to the literature by providing a multistage optimization procedure that starts with abstract ideas about base stations and sensor nodes and ends with optimized collision-free tours for all UAVs. Moreover, the proposed metaheuristic-based extensive local search framework for solving multi-depot multi-traveling salesmen problems is more effective than other optimization techniques in converging to the Pareto front in large-scale problems. Additionally, metaheuristic algorithms with diverse search operators and less tunable parameters are more efficient as they balance exploration and exploitation
Social Media’s Influence on Anti-Sexual Harassment Policies in Egypt (2014-2024)900
Get PDFThe study examined the role of social media and women’s online activism in the development of anti-sexual harassment policies in Egypt, specifically from 2014 to 2024. Through employing a qualitative research method involving semi-structured, in-depth interviews, the study engaged different actors, including members of the parliament, the National Council for Women, female online activists, and women’s rights specialists. During this time frame, there has been a remarkable shift in the political, social, and legislative landscape, marked by significant restrictions on traditional activism and the enactment of laws addressing sexual harassment. Throughout this period of unprecedented changes, social media has emerged as a pivotal platform for women to voice their concerns and mobilize against sexual harassment, reshaping societal norms and narratives. The research highlights social media’s pivotal role in shaping policy agendas by drawing policymakers’ attention to high-profile cases of sexual harassment and influencing public opinion. Additionally, it accelerates the adoption of pre-existing draft policies, by mobilizing public support for these laws, in addition to reshaping societal norms and narratives. Despite these contributions, the primary driver of policy enactment remains the state’s political will, suggesting a top-down approach in policy making. The study further reveals that policymakers react selectively to digital activism when it aligns with the state’s agenda and norms, often resulting in superficial support for online feminist groups. Policy recommendations include creating direct communication channels between the National Council for Women and female online initiatives, encouraging social media data-driven policies by monitoring sexual harassment and women’s issues on social media, utilizing social media to gather public input during the drafting of laws, and collaborating with social media influencers to disseminate anti-sexual harassment messages
A tube-based constitutive model of brain tissue with inner pressure
No full textMany blood vessels exist in brain tissue. Their internal blood pressure plays a crucial role in physiological disorders, such as brain edema, stroke, or traumatic brain injury (concussion). Homogenized continuum mechanics-based brain tissue models can provide an attractive approach to rapidly simulate blood-pressure related physiological disorders, and traumatic brain injury. These homogenized models are much easier and faster to apply compared to finite element models that detail the microstructure. This paper thus presents a homogenized constitutive model for brain tissue in which the vascular networks and blood pressure are taken into account. The proposed model is microstructurally motivated and derived, in which the matrix of the brain tissue (gray/white matter) is modeled as hyperelastic material, while the blood vessels with their inner pressure define the microstructure. The proposed constitutive model is implemented in finite element software. Despite the simplicity of the model, we show it predicts strains and stresses comparable to finite element models with detailed microstructural representations under different loading conditions, demonstrating the potential usefulness of the model in rapidly estimating brain injury risk, hematoma formation, as well as brain tissue expansion/shrinkage
Enhanced Cognitive Distortions Detection and Classification Through Data Augmentation Techniques
No full textCognitive distortions detrimentally affect mental health by distorting reality and influencing emotions and behavior. While the detection and classification of such irrational thinking patterns grow in significance, limited data resources (and thereby limited work) exist for such task. In this study, we are motivated by the work in [5], where a CNN model using BERT embeddings is selected to detect and classify cognitive distortions. We explore various data augmentation techniques, such as Easy Data Augmentation, word embedding substitution, and back-translation to enhance the quality of the training dataset and fine-tune additional embeddings from RoBERTa and GPT-2 to improve the performance of these tasks. Our experimental results demonstrate a significant increase in the F-score by 1.88% for detection and 5.9% for classification. These enhancements increase the potential for building a supportive tool for individuals and mental health professionals
Internet Penetration and Firm Innovation in the Digital Era: A Sectoral Analysis of U.S. Firms
No full textThis paper studies the effect of macro-level internet penetration on firm-level innovation in the United States, proxied by research and development expenditure. The IV approach is used to address the problem of potential endogeneity, covering data from 2000 to 2022 across five super industries: consumer goods and retail, energy and electricity, media and entertainment, financial services, and technology and telecommunications. The results show that internet penetration has a positive effect on the innovative performance of all sectors; however, this effect is more pronounced in the financial service and media sectors. Firm-specific characteristics also influence this relationship, such as debt-to-assets ratio, capital expenditure, and unemployment rate. Given sectoral differences, the study highlights the transformative role of internet accessibility in fostering innovation. While the analysis is limited to macro-level penetration in the U.S. context, the findings underline the importance of policies aimed at improving access to the internet, industry-specific digital transformation, and supporting R&D for sustainable economic growth
1 Studying the Determinants of Successful Aging: Diet, Lifestyle, and Social Relations in Egypt
Get PDFAbstract
Background
The global population is aging rapidly, with projections indicating that by 2050, one in six people will be over the age of 65. In Egypt, the aging population, particularly those aged 60 and above, is expected to grow significantly, posing a growing public health concern. Unhealthful diets (that are associated with overweight and obesity), are one of the main reasons associated with non-communicable diseases (e.g., diabetes and cardiovascular diseases) are major risk factors for poor aging outcomes. Despite this, there is limited research on the specific determinants of successful aging (SA) in Egypt, especially among individuals aged 50 to 70. This study aims to address this gap by exploring the role of diet, lifestyle, and social relations on successful aging, and identify key SA predictors in Egypt.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey design was used with 303 participants aged 50 to 70 years in Egypt. Data was collected on demographic, socio-economic, and health-related factors, including marital status, education, occupational status, housing conditions, chronic diseases, physical activity, and dietary habits. A research framework was developed based on data from the literature review, and was used to create the research design, in which both qualitative and quantitative data were collected. SA was measured using the Successful Aging Score (SAS). Statistical analyses, including multi-regression models, were performed to identify significant predictors of SA and their relationships.
Results
Provide comprehensive insights into the demographic, socio-economic, and health-related characteristics, highlighting how these factors significantly influence health outcomes. Key factors influencing health outcomes included marital status, occupational status, illness days, educational attainment, and other socio-economic factors. The SAS scores showed an inverse relationship with health, indicating that lower SAS scores reflected better health outcomes. Multi-regression analysis identified 7 significant predictors of SA — city of birth, marital status, education, occupation, housing condition, chronic diseases, and dietary habits; healthier dietary patterns were linked to improved aging outcomes.
Conclusion
To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to examine these three determinants of successful aging in Egypt, focusing on diet, lifestyle, and social relations. 7 key predictors of SA were identified as interrelated factors contributing to better aging outcomes. These findings emphasize that successful aging is shaped by socio-economic, lifestyle, and possibly other factors, underscoring the need for targeted interventions to enhance the health and well-being of older adults in Egypt.
Keywords
Successful Aging, Egypt, diet, lifestyle, social relations
Gender Inequality and Productivity Impact in Egypt
Get PDFThis study examines the relationship between gender inequality in Egypt\u27s workforce and productivity across various sectors. Utilizing a comparative research design, the analysis employs quantitative data from sources such as the World Bank and the International Labor Organization. Key indicators of gender inequality—including the gender pay gap, the percentage of women in managerial positions, and female labor force participation rates—are correlated with productivity metrics like GDP per capita and productivity per employee (Figure 3). Findings reveal a strong negative correlation between the gender pay gap and productivity, with sectors exhibiting smaller pay disparities achieving higher productivity levels. Regression analysis indicates that a 10% reduction in the gender pay gap is associated with a 5% increase in productivity per employee. Additionally, sectors with greater female representation in managerial roles show significantly higher sector-specific GDP per capita. These results highlight the economic impact of gender inequality in Egypt and suggest that reducing gender disparities can enhance economic productivity and growth. This study contributes to the discourse on gender equality by demonstrating its importance for both social justice and economic efficiency in Egypt